Here’s what you need to know about the annual ritual of “changing the clocks.”

Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. local time on Sunday, November 3. This is when we “step back” by setting our clocks back an hour. It marks the return to standard time. It’s a good idea to change your time before you go to bed on Saturday night so you don’t forget.

Your cell phone should automatically switch from Daylight Saving Time to Daylight Saving Time because it’s built into the operating system. However, other clocks will have to be modified manually.

The good part? Everyone gets an extra hour of sleep that Sunday.

Generally, shorter days. The end of daylight saving time shifts sunrise and sunset one hour earlier. On the East Coast, this means sunrises closer to 6:30 a.m. (at least for about a month before returning to around 7:00 a.m.) while sunsets move toward 4:30 p.m. (about 4:15 p.m. after Thanksgiving).

Sunrise on Sunday, November 3 will be at 6:20 a.m. and the sun will set earlier – at 4:35 p.m. And, therefore, next Monday, when you go to work or school, sunrise will be at 6:21 a.m. sunset at 4:33 p.m.

Daylight saving time began in the United States in 1918, during World War I (at the time it was called “wartime”). Today, all states except Hawaii and parts of Arizona observe this tradition. The U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands also do not observe this practice.

Due to increased darkness in the morning and afternoon, the return to standard time can sometimes affect our mental health and physical well-being in different ways.

According to Dr. Michelle DiBlasi, chief of hospital psychiatry at Tufts Medical Center, with less sun exposure, “there are lower levels of active serotonin in our brains, which leads some people to feel more depressed.” . Second, with increased darkness, people often produce more melatonin in their brains, which can make them more depressed or listless, interfering with our ability to maintain a consistent sleep-wake schedule.

“These hormonal disruptions can cause the body to think it’s dark, and therefore need to sleep more and feel less energy,” said Dr. David Mischoulon, a professor at Harvard Medical School and director of Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Experts say there are ways to manage this biannual transition and the inevitable winter doldrums.

“People can make an effort to get outside more, because any exposure to the outdoors, even during the winter months, exposes you to sunlight, which can help,” Mischoulon said.

DiBlasi said she always recommends people really take the time to “take good care of themselves” as the year winds down and the days get shorter. “Sometimes small changes in your routine can have a big impact on improving your mood,” DiBlasi said, noting that “things like eating a healthy, balanced diet, exercising regularly, and prioritizing to a good routine before bed so that you can get a good night’s sleep. good night’s sleep” are all effective in improving your mood.

It’s just as important, she says, to stay “socially connected, because it can be easy to become isolated during the winter months, which can make you feel worse and more alone.”

Loss of sunlight can also affect our appetite, often taking the form of carb cravings. Mischoulon said this is often called “hibernation behavior,” a desire to sleep more and store more calories. But it’s important to get out of this rut. “The best thing to do is try to get a reasonable, consistent amount of sleep each day, as much as possible. Avoiding excessive carbs can also help improve your mood and get you out of a groggy, sluggish cycle, he said.

According to experts, to cope with the time change, it is best to start adapting to the change in sun intensity and darkness several days in advance, starting with sleeping and waking times constants.

Experts said you should aim to try to get outside for at least part of the workday.

“For example, go out to lunch instead of eating lunch at your desk or the office cafeteria,” Mischoulon said. “Even a short walk outside during the day will expose you to light. You can also aim to get out more on weekends, especially during the day when you can get some exposure to the sun. Even a short walk can help.

“It can be difficult, but if you can find even 10-minute breaks during the day to get outside, it might help,” DiBlasi added.

A therapy lamp or light box might also be helpful if you’re stuck indoors a lot, they said. “A therapy lamp can expose you to light of the appropriate wavelength in a controlled manner,” Mischoulon said. “In general, two sessions per day of 20 to 30 minutes each may be enough to combat seasonal depression or to prevent it,” adds Mischoulon, who suggests installing the lamp at your desk “or next to your favorite chair where you’ll be able to sit down to watch TV and watch it while you’re doing something else, so you can fit it into your normal routine.

Mischoulon said that sometimes winter slump can progress into something more serious, like seasonal affective disorder, and getting an evaluation from a medical professional would be a good idea. “This may be your primary care physician, psychiatrist, or other mental health clinician.”

“Seasonal affective disorder or seasonal depression is a psychiatric disorder and not just a temporary condition known as the ‘winter blues,’” Mischoulon said. “If you notice serious symptoms and/or feel impaired to the point where you cannot function normally at work or in your personal life, it is important that you obtain a professional evaluation to determine if some sort of therapy is necessary to help you. feel like yourself.

In recent years, the idea of ​​permanently ending the time change ritual has gained ground in the United States.

The Sun Protection Act, which aims to eliminate biannual clock changes by putting the country permanently on daylight saving time, was introduced several years ago, but there were challenges before it was implemented. ‘be adopted. Despite unanimous support in the Senate in 2022, the bill has not yet been approved by the House of Representatives.

Over the years, more than 30 states have also considered legislation to end the practice.

The important thing to remember is that even though daylight is now dwindling even further and our days are becoming more and more truncated, we reach the milestone again on December 21, during the winter solstice. December 21 is the shortest day of the year, but after that our days will gradually become lighter and brighter each afternoon.

Daylight saving time will return on March 9, 2025, the second Sunday of the month. This is when we move our clocks forward. A good way to remember this is to think about the arrival of spring – that’s why we ‘leap forward’.

Marianne Mizera can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow her @MareMizera.